• The management of information, waste reduction, revaluation of by-products, and progress towards sustainability have dominated an informative program spanned two intense days.

The ExpoAgro Canarias 2023 event, promoted and funded by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria in collaboration with the Ministry of Primary Sector, Food Sovereignty and Water Security, and organized by Infecar, concluded on Thursday afternoon with a robust participation of professionals over the two days. This reflects the primary sector’s commitment to advance towards models incorporating the latest technological and innovative advancements, allowing them to increase the efficiency and sustainability of their productions.
“The ‘Innovation Meetings,’ which ExpoAgro Canarias has morphed into at this edition, have been warmly welcomed by agricultural and livestock professionals from both Gran Canaria and the rest of the archipelago,” celebrated Infecar’s director, Natalia Santana. Hundreds of workers and agents of the primary sector met at Infecar yesterday and today to discuss and delve into the latest sector trends.

Experts’ interventions on the last day of the event, which took place on Thursday, centred around the importance of soil care, regenerative agriculture, and waste and by-products from crops and livestock operations. Specifically, Dr Lidia Robaina from the Aquaculture Research Group (GIA) detailed their efforts to repurpose by-products from agricultural production, such as grape pomace, remnants from aloe vera gel production, or banana plant flowers, into feed for aquaculture. Tamara Fernández, a researcher from the Water and Waste Group at the CEIT Technological Center in Spain, proposed renaming “agri-food waste” to “by-products” and encouraged attendees to find ways to add value to both the main product and its derivatives using Model2Bio software. This tool uses mathematical models, algorithms, and life-cycle analysis to help producers gain maximum advantage from all their by-products. Meanwhile, Jesús Fernando Rodríguez, the CEO of Bioflytech, presented the company’s successful case of rearing the black soldier fly to produce protein meals, functional fats, and fertilizers. Moreover, the company does not generate waste as it markets all by-products derived from the primary production of flies.

In the last session of the day, Francesc Font, the founder and CEO of The Regen Academy, explained the fundamental principles of regenerative agriculture, where the primary focus is treating the soil naturally to make it fertile. Meanwhile, the farmer Andrés Gómez shared his success story as the driver of Granja Zael, in which he uses livestock to combat desertification and climate change. Federico Laich from the Canary Institute of Agricultural Research (ICIA) wrapped up the final day of ExpoAgro Canarias 2023 by discussing the importance of soil biodiversity for the proper development of crops and farms.

Robotics, Big Data, and drones, along with Artificial Intelligence, have come to stay in the agri-food sector. These tools allow for advanced monitoring of pests, diseases, and water stress, among others, and assist in making more operational and efficient decisions. This was explained by Manuel Pérez, Professor at the University of Seville and co-founder of @agrosaptrimble, during his intervention on the first day of ExpoAgro Canarias, which took place on Wednesday. The training on the first day was rounded off with lectures on the restoration of agricultural spaces, pest monitoring, new traps for pests, and the state of agro photovoltaic energy in Gran Canaria.

Parallel Journeys

In the EIT Food ‘Feeding the Future’ event, organized within the framework of ExpoAgro Canarias 2023, participants wrapped up their training on how to launch a startup aligning with the goals of the EIT Food initiative, aimed at furthering sustainability. After a first session on Wednesday focused on project development and setting objectives, the program on Thursday concluded with a discussion on funding opportunities. The parallel program of ExpoAgro Canarias included a technical session devoted to tackling the Diocalandra pest that affects palm trees in the islands.

‘ExpoAgro Canarias: Innovation Encounters’ is an event sponsored and funded by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and organized by Infecar in collaboration with the Department of the Primary Sector, Food Sovereignty, and Water Security of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, the Economic Promotion Society of Gran Canaria, the Chamber of Commerce of Gran Canaria, COAG-Canarias, and Cajasiete.